PRESENTATION OF BOOK “INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERINTELLIGENCE: ARMENIAN TRACE” HELD IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug 3 2005
YEREVAN, August 3. /ARKA/. A presentation of the book “Intelligence
and Counterintelligence: Armenian trace” by Colonel Arkady Sargsyan
has been held in Yerevan. According to the author, the book
contains biographies of over 100 Armenian intelligence officers
that worked in all the Soviet and Russian intelligence services
(NKVD, KGB, naval intelligence, military intelligence of the Head
Intelligence Department). Sargsyan pointed out that the book contains
the biographies of all heads of security services (from 1920) and
of internal affairs services (from 1918) of Armenia. He said that
Armenian intelligent officers worked in various parts of the world.
Sargsyan pointed out that many of them held high posts in other
countries’ intelligence services. Sargsyan pointed out that in
writing the book he used the information of the archives of the RA
Federal Security Service, RF Counterintelligence Service, RF Foreign
Intelligence Service, RF Head Intelligence Department, RF Foreign
Ministry and Information Center of the RF Ministry of the Interior.
In his turn, Vice-Chief of the Joint Staff, RA Armed Forces,
Major-General Bazentsi Azoyan pointed out that the book tells about
the people who performed their civic and national duty, defending the
interests of the Soviet Union and of Armenia. According to him, the
publication of the book is a most importance event, as nothing has
so far been written about very many talented Armenian intelligence
officers. According to Azoyan, the Armenian people that have for
centuries been deprived of nationhood formed psychological features
that allowed it to properly organize intelligence activities, which
contributed to the nation’s self-preservation. In particular, he said
that Armenian left an appreciable trace both among top officials and
field officers of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Armenian
intelligence officers served in various political situations and in
various regimes. Azoyan welcomed the fact that the book contains the
information on the intelligence officers that were stamped as traitors
in the 1930s. “It is the right approach, as policy and values change,
but those people did their job and there were no discrepancies between
their work and civic duties then,” Azoyan said.
He expressed confidence that the book will help young people that
decide to devote themselves to intelligence properly organize their
work to the country’s benefit.
President of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences Fadey Sargsyan,
and Colonel Petros Petrosyan, who was involved in the unique operation
of removing the Soviet secret agent Kim Filby from Beirut to the USSR,
made a high appraisal of the book as well. P.T.
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